Bangkok To Krakow

Since we arrived in Poland it has been a whirlwind of reunions, feasting and pondering our next movements. Our internet access has been limited and the logistics of sleeping in, being fed, sleeping some more, snacking, watching the Polish volleyball team at the Olympics, eating some more, watching the news channel, sightseeing and all the while child rearing has made it difficult to sit down, focus and write even a trickle of an update. One thing is for sure no news is good news! Who ever heard of a 24 hour news channel? Not cable either – one of four channels.

We were gifted with some pretty wonderful days in Koszalin. That perfect weather you only dream of – fresh mornings, sun shining midday’s and breezy afternoons. If only it wasn’t for those damn drafts. Can you really get sick from a draft? We got to experience a European suburban town with no tourists and not an English translation of a sign around. Karon was definitely immersed in Polish. On our last day, he spilled out a forage of words but not even one swear word.. what a poor effort Polska! Poland was too busy trying to feed him instead. What we lost in sweat and tears in Thailand we definitely gained in potatoes and ponczki in Poland. 4 kg each in 2 weeks to be exact. The source – parowki (Polish sausages), ponczki (Polish donuts), krowki (Polish fudge) and a smorgasbord of potatos, cabbage, delicious meats and some of the tastiest salads ever (thanks to Ciocia Misia’s diet!) all with a dash of Dill.

Summer in Poland is just delicious. Our favourite sights (outside the obvious antiquity of the old towns) have been the rendered cement grey blocks with their little balconies and window parapets bursting with red flowers and green foliage. Many of the communist remnants have been painted in natural tones, others quite hideously, but I still prefer the grays for some reason. Some buildings are very run down, some have been ornately renovated but for me it’s those flowers that bring the houses to life. The tufts of wheat flowers, wild flowers and just plain old weeds sprouting through cobblestones and pavements is a magical scene. No manicured grass here. Interestingly nature does not take over and run riot on the streets when left untended. It adds softness to every street and neighborhood. Then there are old growth parks around every turn – half wild and beautiful!

Koszalin city, like most cities in Poland, is set up around an old town surrounded by remnants of an ancient wall. Outside of the old town is a sprawling metropolis with small neighborhoods’ of apartment blocks which would house a majority of the town’s population. With 100,000 plus inhabitants it is amazing that 10 minutes out of the city centre sees rolling plains and forests. The cities layout made us think hard about the differences and the preferences of modern suburbia, between living in a shoebox with pure nature on your doorstep or living in a mansion with a slice of grass. There is a warm community feel here. If you meander through these neighbourhoods you will find kiosks, mini markets, local fresh fruit and vegies (usually grown in the local garden and farm plots just outside the city), hairdressers and all sorts of amenities and services. There are playgrounds and sand pits around every turn. Zofia had her first time on the swings here. What joy for the little tacker! There are children running amuck every day. It was so refreshing to see so many little ones playing outside.

Outside of the apartment blocks there is some suburbia followed by pure countryside before the next suburb, apartment neighbourhoods and old town rises up. With a country of 40 odd million the most populated city Warsaw has a population of just under 2 million. The layout here is similar to Thailand where the whole country is dotted with cities, towns and villages with country and forests in between. Being part of the great European plain, the Polish fields and forests are cradled by 528 km of the Baltic Sea coast to the north and the High Tatra mountain range to the south. It is strange for us in Australia and New Zealand to think of only have such a small amount of coast line and in the case of New Zealand such a small amount of mountains. The Poles definitely make the most of it. We visited Mielno, a coastal tourist town several times and it sure was a sight. The markets, stalls and food localities were plenty spreading down the street and then some. The lody (Polish ice creams) and gofry (Polish waffles) shops abound. The nightlife which we did not see with our imposed 7pm Zofia curfew is meant to be spectacular (ironically my mamusia can vouch for that from her visit weeks earlier). But the strangest sight of all was a beach chocker full of people with little segmented off areas sun baking, playing, socialising and having a great time with only one person in the water! My babcia explained that they do tests on the water and sometimes its too dirty and so they put up a red flag. It didn’t look dangerous but you know those bacteria. Oh and no board shorts allowed. Yes seriously. Speedos for everyone!

Poland was a nostalgic journey. For me family visits and tasty treats would have been more then enough but then we were treated to Krakow. Karon will take you on that journey in his next post.